NPR Doing PR for the Health Insurance Industry?

Maybe you were still asleep this morning. Maybe you didn't hear NPR's Steve Innskeep bring an exec with the health insurance industry on Morning Edition and let him froth on and on about why the nation shouldn't have a public insurance option as part of health care reform.

Steve Innskeep, are you serious? Did you just forget to include an opposing point of view?

Since when is this balanced journalism? Since when does NPR do PR for business? Since when is it right to let an apologist for a huge corporate interest moan and groan about how horrible Medicare is because reimbursement rates aren't as high as they are under private insurance?

Your listening audience deserves far better.

At a moment when the nation is poised to try to revamp a health care system that is in total shambles, we need our public radio station to do justice to the debate. We need you to do far better journalism than this poor excuse for a story.

How ironic that it would be the public radio network making this extraordinary gaffe.

How would it be, NPR, if we let an opponent of public radio come on the air -- unopposed -- and let him whine about why all federal funding for public radio should be eliminated?

The health care debate is as hot right now here in DC as the sidewalks running through the nation's capitol. The papers and airwaves are full of stories about whether the legislation will come out of the Senate and House by the end of July, before the recess (as the President is urging.)

And in the middle of all this, NPR does a segment like this?

Do it over. This time, bring in somebody from the opposing point of view. Bring in somebody who knows about the benefits of the public option and let her/him have at it with your PR type.

The President has said it is essential we have a public option to keep the private health insurance industry honest. It's essential to give consumers an alternative to private insurance, which has our backs up against the wall, always denying claims, or delaying payment, or dropping people from their rolls when they get too sick.

Curious that the person Innskeep brought on is the doctor whose job it is at WellPoint -- the nation's biggest insurance company -- to set up the rules for the company about denying coverage. Ah, so the docs now become the industry bureaucrats. How reassuring is that?

Maybe, Steve, that's the real story you should have done early this morning. And you know what? It isn't too late to do it, right, this afternoon or tomorrow!

Follow Claudia Ricci on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RicciCJ

Comments

[cplKlyde]

You can't spell repunlican without NPR. I stopped giving to NPR because of Mara Liason and Juan Williams but Mike Pesca and others are nearly as bad. I turned on Morning Addition Saturday and Scott Simon's senior new analyst is Juan Williams a man who called Michelle Obama "Stokley Carmichael in a dress."

[RaderBarbarian]

Gee, do you suppose NPR provides health insurance to their employees? Do you suppose they might be given a special rate if they present Fox-style "fair and balanced" coverage of the battle of healthcare? Oh no! NPR would never do that! Yeah right. I am so sure they wouldn't. I am so, so sure.

[Trelanea]

I'm just gonna direct you all to this broadcast from July 10th. It was on Talk of the Nation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106470889&plckFindCommentKey=CommentKey:1083af86-425a-4859-902f-5d512837efd3

The guy basically says we have to entirely chuck private insurance out the window. So yeah, they do cover both sides of this particular issue. I listen for 8-10 hours a day, and I.M.H.O. they broadcast more stories supporting public healthcare than private.

(But I'm pretty sure they are also sponsored by Monsanto, or have been. So you know.... straddlin' the fence. Unfortunately, at the rate they've been losing their funding, I can understand the repeating stories, and getting financial support from big corporations.)
One thing NPR hates is to be called one sided, or myopic... So I can understand their delicate bipartisan dance here.

[JBS]

"NPR" has really been "CPR" - CORPORATION Public Radio since at least 1980.

[Gudrun]

I did hear that interview, and I had to turn it off as it was making me ill.

[3fingerbrown]

The author should have at least provided the link to the story, so we could decide for ourselves if it was a soft interview or not. Listen to it here, and check out the listener comments--many chide Inskeep for the spot, but some congratulate him for getting tough with Dr. WellPoint!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106632610

[policyhack]

Steve Inskeep should give equal time to Wendell Potter, former Cigna executive who take the opposite view.

"we shouldn’t fear government involvement in our health care system. That there is an appropriate role for government, and it’s been proven in [other] countries . . . "

http://axisofreason.com/2009/07/15/former-private-health-insurance-executive-concludes-appropriate-role-for-government-in-health-insurance/

[Alison Rose Levy - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes, I covered the Wendell Potter story just two days ago on HuffPo here and it's a doozy:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-rose-levy/we-cared-about-numbers-no_b_230535.html

www.health-journalist.com

[pluton]

1) NPR usually airs an opposing viewpoint on the same program, but not necessarily on the same day. If you were somewhat familiar with NPR, you'd know this.
2)Inskeep was laughing with incredulity when the Wellpoint guy gave his crypto-nonsense answer to the question about why the healthcare 'public option' is bad for America.
3) The Wellpoint guy sounded creepy and tense... he reminded me of the tobacco industry spokesman that Martin Short used to play on SNL. NPR did the cause of the 'public option' a favor just by putting this Wellpoint guy on the air.

[pluton]

NPR is a fairly establishment organization, so of course it's not immune to politcal influence...and, when we think we see it influenced, we should point it out... HOWEVER: 1) If you are familiar with NPR, you know that they usually present an 'opposing' viewpoint, but not necessarily on the same day. 2) If you actually listened to Inskeep and the Wellpoint guy, you'd have heard Inskeep laughing with incredulity at the Wellpoint guy's response to the issue of 'Why not a public option. 3) The Wellpoint guy sounded creepy and weird, very much(to me) like the tobacco industry spokesman character that Martin Short used to play on SNL. Just by giving that guy airtime, NPR advanced the cause of the public option to compete with the private insurers.

[HeevenSteven]

NPR has been corrupted by corporate funding and political appointees.

[igiveup]

Political appointees? Like who?

[Dynamohum]

I would really be interested if you get a response to your post. I am troubled by this. Since when is NPR the voice of the Corporate Overlord? It is supposed to be the voice of the people. You already know this. Another question might be - Who at NPR got paid to allow this obvious FOX into the henhouse? I don't want to hear from Wellpoint or any other insurance company lobbyist or representative. I want to hear from experts on a public plan, actually I want experts knowledgable about SINGLE PAYER. It feels like it is getting to the point where we cannot trust ANY media outlet.

[JBS]

Since 1980